Empty Space
by Demented Insane Spirit
Summary: Arrogantshipping. “No amount of work is going to fill that empty space in your heart, Kaiba,” she told him with a smug smile. “And you would know?” He returned snidely. “Nothing could fill my empty heart,” she replied softly. One shot.


DIS: I have a few YGO shipping lists and after looking over them, I picked out the shippings I liked best. Every once in awhile, I'll look at them to see if I can't get any ideas for them. I've been wanting to do different things, because Anzu isn't as flexible of a character as people make her out to be. (Not if you want to keep her in character, anyway.) So, anyway, that's a bit of an explanation as to where I got this idea. Please read below and enjoy!

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_Title: Empty Space_

_Rating: K and Up_

_Genre: General/Romance_

_Summary: Arrogantshipping. "No amount of work is going to fill that empty space in your heart, Kaiba," she told him with a smug smile. "And you would know?" He returned snidely. "Nothing could fill my empty heart," she replied softly. One shot._

_Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh. _

_Notes/Warnings: Arrogantshipping; Kaiba/Mai; one shot; first attempt at this couple_

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_Empty Space_

Mai Kujaku rested her arms on the table that she was sitting at, gazing outside the window as the massive screens flashed with advertisements and such. This was a familiar café, as she had sat in it several times by herself when her thoughts troubled her. Lately, she had found that she was unsure of where she wanted to go. Yuugi and his friends had only recently graduated from high school. They would begin to part. From what she had heard from Anzu, the female intended on going to the United States to study at Julliard School of Dancing.

As they spoke about their future, a heavy wistfulness had settled in the pit of Mai's belly. Even though she was surrounded by people she considered friends, she had never felt lonelier. Because of the life she made herself lead, there were not many options for her. She could not even claim to have a real home. She drifted from hotel to hotel, making money at odd jobs. Since she was cutting back on some of the more expensive and less useful things in her life, she had more money for the things that mattered.

_I wish I had finished school, _she thought, glancing down at her tea and shifting the lemon that floated on the top. _I would have more things to do if I did. _She slid the front of the spoon over the rim of the cup, making a small, metallic noise. She set it on the saucer and then raised the cup to sip at it. _Domino will have nothing of interest to me once Yuugi and them leave. Memories, maybe, but not much else. It could not offer me anything that I don't already have or _have_ had. _

She glanced outside again and slid her gaze down to the sidewalk to see a familiar, bushy-haired boy. She smiled as Mokuba Kaiba and two kids leaned over some video game that Mokuba was holding. If she knew Mokuba's brother – and as it happened, she knew him well enough to understand his character – the game the boy was holding was likely specially made.

Turning away from the window, Mai finished her tea and left a tip on the table before gathering her rucksack with her most precious belongings that never left her side and leaving the café. She brushed her thick, blonde hair from her shoulder as she stepped into the warm air. It was not yet the end of summer, so the night air had not become cool as it generally would.

She glanced over her shoulder to see that Mokuba and his friends were intent on their game. Giving a small smile of envy at their careless demeanor, she turned and moved towards the square. For once, it was not too crowded. She settled on the bench of a fountain and dug in her rucksack for a piece of gum. After unwrapping it, she slid the stick of gum in her mouth and chewed peacefully, letting her gaze wander around aimlessly. She paused, seeing a strangely familiar male sitting a few feet away from her. _That explains why Mokuba was just around the corner, _she thought.

Shrugging, she rose to her feet and stood in front of Seto Kaiba, waving a hand as she bent down a bit so that she met his gaze. "Hey there, Kaiba." His eyes stared back at her, cool and a bit annoyed. She almost laughed. His expression might have been considered daunting if any other soul had gazed into it. She, however, had dealt with far worse facial expressions and was unfazed by each of them, most especially his. "Mind if I sit and chat with you?" His mouth twisted unpleasantly.

"If you insist," he grudgingly said. Kaiba stared ahead as Mai settled beside him. He had been dragged out of the comfort of his office at his mansion by Mokuba, who had told him that he needed fresh air and wanted to show his friends his new game, despite it being past eight at night. And then he went as far as to say, _no_, he would _not_ take the limo to Domino Square by himself and he wanted Kaiba to come. Quite reluctantly did the elder of the two leave the mansion to deal with the idiots of Domino. _At least I don't have any personal problem with _this_ friend of Yuugi's, _he reflected, glancing at Mai who was chewing her gum and tucking her rucksack behind her legs. He noticed the string was around her ankle, so it was not stolen.

Kaiba had not had much of a chance to ever talk with Mai. She never seemed to really want any company. Even though she was friends with Yuugi, she didn't hang around him like a plague as his other friends did. He had gathered that she was a bit of a loner. How someone with as sociable of a personality as her could be a loner was beyond his comprehension.

"Are you going to continue your schooling this fall?" She queried. He slowly turned his head to look at her. There was such sincerity in the question that he could not help but give it his attention. He generally disliked blondes, finding them ditzy and without much of any use except perhaps a casual fling when one was bored. He had to remind himself that Mai Kujaku was one of the top duelists and only held a few aspects of the blondes he met, one of them being her feminine vanity.

"No," he answered. "I have a company and all the education I need. Why should I waste money to listen to some old man lecture me about something I've already learned?"

She raised her eyebrows. "It seems to me you work entirely too much." She paused thoughtfully. "The only person I've known for you to get close to is Mokuba and sometimes hardly that. That kid gets used against you so much it's not even funny. If you didn't go after him every time he was kidnapped, I would think you didn't care about him, Kaiba." He glanced at her sharply. "You have a hollow heart, hon." She smiled, as if she had not insulted him.

"Thank you for your observations," he caustically drawled, irritated. He had to deal with Mazaki constantly getting on his case about not allowing himself to have friends and now this woman – who was older than him from what he knew – was lecturing him about how frozen his heart was. No doubt she was about to tell him that love made the world go round. _Then there was Isis, who said I was power hungry and subtly hinted that I had an overlarge ego, _Kaiba added darkly. _And Mokuba wonders why I don't bother with women._

"No amount of work is going to fill that empty space in your heart, Kaiba," she told him with a smug smile, as though knowing her words were pissing him off.

"And you would know?" He returned snidely.

"Nothing could fill my empty heart," she replied softly. There was a hint of sadness to her smile. His brow furrowed. Before he was given time to analyze those words too thoroughly, she continued, "I would bet all the money I have that you can't stand to stop working because you feel lost." She laughed, a bit ruthlessly. "It would make sense why you shove everyone away. If you were older, I would say it must be because you were hurt by someone before. As it is, I think I'll just go with you being neglected as a child."

Sarcastically, Kaiba said, "Oh, so now you're my therapist? I wouldn't take that bet, as the money I win from you would likely not even make a dent in my bank account."

Mai laughed, grinning. "Hon, I don't really care _how_ much money you have. I wouldn't lose the bet, anyway, so it wouldn't matter." She reached out and poked him in the chest with a fine, manicured nail. "I don't need some little rich boy criticizing me for not having enough money." She winked, lowering her hand. "As long as I have enough to keep me going, I'm not complaining. Mind you, the shopping and cars and Jacuzzis would be nice."

"It gets old," was all he said in return, surprising himself at the honesty. Perhaps she sensed the change, because her violet eyes narrowed, sharpening on his statement. He gritted his teeth, more than a little frustrated that he had allowed that to slip to some woman he barely knew. As he sat there cursing himself, however, he realized that some part of him _had_ been lonely. His mind often drove him crazy when he had nothing to occupy himself with. He wasn't about to admit that to Mai Kujaku, though.

He turned his azure gaze to her suspiciously. Her expression had settled into its original place. He frowned hard, seeing that she had only spoken to him to entertain herself. It was not the type of cruel entertainment that his foster father had taken from him, but a pleasant kind in which normal people often experienced. He was unused to it; his sharp, suspicious mind usually found some evil in a person's intentions. It was too obvious that Mai was simply looking for companionship for him to assume anything different.

She suddenly smiled at him.

"Are you staying at the company in Domino this fall?" She asked. He blinked, a bit baffled by the return to the original subject she had introduced. "You must have more than one company in the world."

"Of course," he answered, cool and polite. "Even though I'm not going to school anymore, Mokuba is. Domino has a poor education system. I have decided I might go to Shibuya or somewhere else so that he can do better."

Mai chuckled. "Sounds like you," she remarked. His eyes narrowed in slight confusion. She slipped the string from her ankle and picked up her rucksack, rising to her feet. She paused and looked at him over her shoulder, smiling. It was then that he knew she was giving him a genuine grin. It was slow and despite the sultry look her cosmetics and general appearance gave her, the smile seemed innocent. "Thanks, Kaiba. It was nice talking to you." She winked at him and blew him a kiss, leaving him then, crossing the square.

When she was out of sight, Kaiba turned and stared ahead of him again. This time, he did not block the thoughts that pounded on his head whenever he was unoccupied.

_Finis_

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DIS: Mai and Kaiba are actually quite hard to get together, since they're in such different worlds. I think they're very much alike, though, what with them both having hard childhoods and not having any friends, acting rather cold. Mai warms up eventually, but Kaiba doesn't from what I've seen of the series. That is, unless you count Priest Seto in the Millennium World Series. In the manga, he had a soft spot for Kisara. Anyway, please leave a review, telling me how I did with this couple. I would really appreciate it. Ciao!


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